In a game heard on Your Easy Choice 95.9 FM WEZC, the Monticello Sages defeated the Rantoul Eagles 63-12 in a Homecoming matchup on Friday night. Mason High was named the ServPro Piatt/DeWitt Counties Sages Player of the Game for scoring a touchdown as a defensive lineman.

With the win, Monticello improves to 4-2 on the season and 3-2 in the Illini Prairie Conference. Rantoul drops to 0-6 overall and 0-5 in conference action. Rantoul faces off against Tolono Unity next week at home.

Tune in next Friday night, October 6, as the Monticello Sages travel to Paxton to take on the PBL Panthers. You can hear the game live on Your Easy Choice 95.9 FM and online at dewittdailynews.com. Kickoff is set for 7pm with the broadcast beginning shortly before.

In a game heard Friday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons topped the Tuscola Warriors, 49-27, in a Homecoming win at Clinton High School.  
 

Clinton utilized big plays on both sides of the ball to run away with the CIC conference win.  Dawson Graves started the scoring with a 53-yard first quarter touchdown run.  Tristin Potts then took one 68 yards for a score.  Seven minutes later Graves would then go 91 yards on the ground to put Clinton up 20-0.  Tuscola would get a 16-yard run from quarterback Jordan Quinn just before half to make it 20-6 at the break. 
 

The Maroons would add a 4-yard Tristin Potts score midway thru the third quarter.  The games first passing touchdown came at the end of the third when Mason Walker found his brother Colton for a 35-yard score.  However, Tuscola would return the ensuing kickoff to bring the score to 35-13 after three.  
 

The Maroons would add a 9-yard touchdown pass from Walker to Keaton Graves early in the fourth.  Tuscola would answer with a 33-yard touchdown pass, and then recover an onside kick. The Warriors used the extra possession to get another score on a Quinn 2-yard run to make it, 42-27.  Clinton would get the last score of the night when Tristin Potts rumbled for a 67-yard score to put the final at 49-27.  
 

Potts paced the Maroons offense with 15 carries for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dawson Graves had 7 carries for 165 yards, and 2 TD's.  Mason Walker was 3 of 5 passing for 61 yards & 2 touchdowns.  He also ran 4 times for 57 yards.  Colton Walker had 2 catches for 52 yards and a score.  
 

Even with the high scoring offensive output, the Maroons defense was just as impressive.  They sacked Quinn four times, intercepted him three times, and forced a fumble.  Ryan Stapleton led the Maroons with two sacks, a fumble recovery, and numerous other big plays. He was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of DeWitt/Piatt County Player of the Game.  Kristian Hibbard returned from injury with two sacks; while Keaton Graves, Logan Thoms, and Colton Walker each had the picks. 
 

Clinton held Tuscola's Jordan Quinn to 75 yards on the ground on 16 carries with two touchdowns.  The Senior was 22 of 39 passing for 187 yards, a touchdown, and the three interceptions. Austin Cummings had 11 catches for 99 yard and a score for the Warriors.   
 

Tuscola falls to 2-4 overall, and 1-2 in the CIC.  They'll host Meridian next week. 
 

Clinton improves to 4-2 overall, and 3-0 in the Central Illinois Conference.  They'll travel to Warrensburg-Latham next Friday night.  Hear all the action on all WHOW platforms! 

CIC:

Shelbyville 50, Macon Meridian 7
Warrensburg-Latham 14, Central A&M 13

Illini Prairie:

Bloomington Central Catholic 35, St. Joseph-Ogden 21
Fairbury Prairie Central 32, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 0
Tolono Unity 55, Pontiac 6

Apollo:

Charleston 50, Mattoon 21
Mahomet-Seymour 26, Mt. Zion 7
Effingham 55, Taylorville 12

Big 12:

Bloomington 34, Champaign Centennial 20
Peoria Notre Dame 53, Champaign Central 21
Normal Community 42, Danville 10
Normal West 54, Peoria Manual 0
Peoria 76, Peoria Richwoods 13

Central State 8:

Decatur MacArthur 62, Decatur Eisenhower 14
Lincoln 41, Jacksonville 28
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 24, Chatham Glenwood 17
Springfield 43, Springfield Southeast 14

Heart of Illinois:

El Paso-Gridley 47, Colfax Ridgeview-Lexington 18
Downs Tri-Valley 28, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 8
Eureka 63, Tremont 6
LeRoy 35, Fisher 19
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 40, Minonk Fieldcrest 14

Lincoln Prairie:

Toledo Cumberland 25, Arcola 14
Argenta-Oreana 47, Oakland Tri-County 24
Villa Grove 55, Cerro Gordo-Bement 12
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 43, Nokomis 23
Sullivan-Okaw Valley 27, Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 0

Sangamo:

Auburn 48, Riverton 7
Maroa-Forsyth 35, Stanford Olympia 26
Williamsville 56, New Berlin 41
Athens 42, Petersburg PORTA 12
Pleasant Plains 28, Pittsfield 26

8-Man Football:

Martinsville 26, Farmer City Blue Ridge 6

Non-conference:

Decatur St. Teresa 55, St. Louis Principia/Whitfield, MO 38
Heyworth 42, Rushville-Industry 22
Normal University 73, Urbana 6

The Arizona Diamondbacks delayed clinching an NL wild card berth, losing to the White Sox 3-1 on Thursday as Andrew Vaughn and Yoán Moncada homered for Chicago.

The White Sox finish the regular season with a series against San Diego. Hear Sunday's season finale on WHOW.

Garrett Mitchell doubled, walked twice and scored in his first big league game since April, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 on Thursday.

Corbin Burnes, Julio Teheran (3-5) and Ethan Small combined on a six-hitter for the NL Central champions. Burnes struck out four and walked one in four innings in his final postseason tuneup, throwing 39 of his 66 pitches for strikes.

Mitchell led off the third with a double off the wall in left on Dakota Hudson's first pitch of the inning. Christian Yelich then hit an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.

Hudson (6-3) was charged with three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. He struck out three and walked three.

Yelich also doubled and scored on William Contreras' single in the first.

The Brewers added another run when Carlos Santana scampered home on Willy Adames' double-play grounder in the sixth.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Juniel Querecuto lined to shortstop and Burnes fanned Masyn Winn to reach 200 strikeouts for the third consecutive season.

After Burnes departed, Teheran pitched four innings. Small, making his fourth major league appearance, got three outs for his first career save.

Max Olson hit his major league-leading 54th homer, and the Atlanta Braves clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a 5-3 win over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Thursday night.

Atlanta rookie A.J. Smith-Shawver allowed a run in 3 2/3 hitless innings. Kyle Wright (1-3) then came in and pitched 2 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Raisel Iglesias picked up his 32nd save with a perfect ninth inning.

Stroman (10-9) was charged with four runs, two earned, and four hits in two innings.

Seiya Suzuki had three hits and two RBIs for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner went 2 for 4 and scored a run.
 

David Montgomery helped the Detroit Lions take early command of the division with a 34-20 victory at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.

Aaron Rodgers' replacement, Jordan Love, threw for a touchdown and ran for another as he tried to rally the Packers in the second half. He finished 23 of 36 for 246 yards and had two passes intercepted by Jerry Jacobs.

Detroit led 27-3 at halftime and had outgained Green Bay 284 yards to 21 as the half ended.

Love got the Packers within 10 points. His 1-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson capped a season-long 86-yard drive to open the second half.

Jayden Reed ended the third quarter with a 44-yard catch that set up Love's 9-yard touchdown run with 14:52 left in the game to make it 27-17.

Detroit responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Montgomery's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal, that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and put the game away.

The Lions were prepared to settle for a 30-yard field goal that would have kept it as a two-score game, but they got a first down when Green Bay’s Quay Walker received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for running forward and leaping across the line in an attempt to block the kick.

Rudy Ford intercepted Goff on the third play from scrimmage to set up a field goal. Detroit then scored 24 points on its next four drives.

Goff’s 24-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open St. Brown put the Lions ahead for good. Montgomery scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards, while Riley Patterson kicked field goals of 33 and 37 yards.

The second quarter was nearly halfway over and the Lions already led 24-3 when the Packers finally got their initial first down thanks to a Detroit penalty. The Packers didn’t get a first down on their own merits until 7 seconds remained before halftime.

The Clinton Maroons golf teams both competed in regionals this week.

The boy's golf team competed in regionals on Wednesday in Metamora. The team placed sixth and will not be advancing as a team. Senior Brooks Cluver shot a 74 and was 4th in the meet. He received a top 5 medal and will advance to sectionals on Monday at Kellogg Golf Course in Peoria. Aiden Toohill finished 7th with an 83 and will also advance to sectionals.

Ryan Pine shot an 87, Cole Fentress shot a 91, Briley Carter recorded a 95, and Ashton Douglas finished with a 110.

The girl's regionals were held on Thursday in Danville. They tied for 5th but did not advance. Junior Carley Earle was 5th overall with a 90 and received a top 5 medal. She will be advancing to sectionals on Monday in Taylorville. Senior Sarah Mills shot a 92 to receive 6th overall and will also advance to sectionals.

Leah Mills shot a 123, Addie Koritz had a 124, and Grace Gates finished with 133.
 

Brandon Pfaadt pitched shutout ball for the second time in three starts, and the Arizona Diamondbacks moved closer to an NL wild card berth by beating the Chicago White Sox 3-0 Wednesday for their eighth win in 10 games.

Remember WHOW is your home for Chicago White Sox baseball.

Ozzie Albies drove in Ronald Acuña Jr. with a 10th-inning single that clinched home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs for the Braves, who dealt the faltering Chicago Cubs another devastating setback by rallying time and time again for a 6-5 victory Wednesday night.

Marcell Ozuna hit a tying homer in the ninth to set the table for Acuña and Albies, who came through with the tying and game-winning hits off Daniel Palencia.

Albies also homered for the Braves. Jesse Chavez (1-0) earned the win.

Chicago starter Jameson Taillon allowed three hits over six-plus innings, retiring 17 of 18 hitters at one point. Mike Tauchman and Ian Happ homered for the Cubs, and Happ put Chicago ahead 5-4 with a sacrifice fly in the top half of the 10th.

Darius Vines made his second big league start for the injury plagued Braves, who are down two starting pitchers in the final days of the regular season. He went six innings, surrendering four hits and two earned runs.

Tauchman launched a 402-foot drive into the Chop House restaurant in right field for his eighth homer this season. Two batters later, Happ sent one even deeper over the center-field wall for his 20th homer.

Tyrone Taylor hit two run-scoring doubles and the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers came from behind to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Taylor’s second double in the seventh drove in Brian Anderson with the tiebreaking run after Anderson doubled off Jacob Barnes (0-1).

William Contreras doubled and scored on Taylor's hit and an error in the sixth. Taylor took third on a throwing error by left fielder Richie Palacios and scored when Rowdy Tellez hit into a fielder’s choice.

Joel Payamps (7-5) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Devin Williams pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 40 chances.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the eighth off Andrew Chafin. He escaped the jam by hustling to first to take the relay throw from shortstop Brice Turang and complete a double play.

Cardinals starter Zack Thompson allowed two runs - one earned - on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Masyn Winn hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded off Milwaukee starter Wade Miley in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. That was the only run on six hits that Miley allowed in five innings.

The Cardinals capitalized on reliever Abner Uribe’s wildness for a run in the sixth. Luken Baker singled, moved to second on a walk and scored after two wild pitches.

Cardinals rookie outfielder Jordan Walker’s single in the eighth extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

>>HS Golf: Cluver Leads Clinton Boy's, Mills Leads Girls

Brooks Cluver led the Clinton Maroons boy's golf team to a match win over Maroa-Forsyth and St. Teresa Monday night at Hickory Point Golf Course in Forsyth

.

Brooks Cluver was the day's medalist and shot a 38.Aiden Toohill shot a 39 and Ryan Pine recorded a 41. Clinton as a team shot a 161. Maroa-Forsyth recorded a 184, and St. Teresa finished with 242.

Briley Carter shot a 43, Cole Fentress recorded a 47, and Ashton Douglas finished with 51.

On the girl's side, Clinton beat St. Teresa by one stroke. Sarah Mills shot a 48 and Carley Earle shot a 49.

Leah Mills finished with 53, Addie Koritz shot a 56, and Grace Gates recorded a 64.

The boys will travel to regionals on Wednesday, September 27, at Metamora Fields in Metamora at 9am. The girls regional is Thursday, September 28, at Harrison Park Golf Course in Danville at 9am.

The Clinton Maroons offense has been somewhat of a work in progress and Friday night's 50-point explosion has Coach Ron Bass excited.

The Maroons were able to roll Meridian in a Central Illinois Conference matchup Friday 54-20. Coach Bass says it was good to see the offense get going, led by quarterback Mason Walker.

Coach Bass says part of their issues defensively in the first half was an alignment miscommunication by the secondary but once that was corrected, they were able to shut down the Hawks pass attack.

The offense was balanced Friday night for Clinton and Coach Bass says they could have had more of those things. It's about becoming more consistent.

It's Homecoming week at Clinton High School. The Maroons welcome the 2-3 Tuscola Warriors to Clinton. The Maroons are looking for a second signature win after dropping Central A&M a few weeks ago. Beating Tuscola would be another big statement by Clinton.

Game time is 7 pm. Hear all the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

Jordan Love rallied Green Bay from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit after New Orleans lost quarterback Derek Carr to a shoulder injury, and the Packers stunned New Orleans 18-17 on Sunday.

This was Love’s fourth start overall and first at home. The 2020 first-round pick spent the last three seasons backing up Aaron Rodgers, who's now with the New York Jets and is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

The Packers (2-1) scored 18 points in the final 11 minutes to win their 11th consecutive home opener, the NFL’s longest active streak. They took the lead on Love’s 8-yard pass to Romeo Doubs in the right corner of the end zone with 2:56 left.

Carr’s backup, Jameis Winston, threw a couple of completions to Chris Olave that drove the Saints (2-1) into scoring position before Blake Grupe’s 46-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right with 1:05 left. It was the first career miss in seven attempts for Grupe, a rookie who played in college at Arkansas State and Notre Dame.

Green Bay became the third team in the past 30 years to win after being shut out 17-0 or worse through three quarters. The others were Carolina against Philadelphia on Oct. 21, 2018, and Tennessee against the New York Giants on Nov. 26, 2006.

The Packers were missing five key contributors: cornerback Jaire Alexander (back), running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring), left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee) and left guard Elgton Jenkins (knee). Bakhtiari and Jones were missing their second straight games, while Watson has yet to play this season.

The Packers host Detroit on Thursday night.

Patrick Wisdom put Chicago ahead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Seiya Suzuki had two hits and scored twice, and the Cubs helped their playoff chances by beating the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Sunday.

Yan Gomes also drove in two runs for the Cubs, who remained a game in front of Miami for the National League's final postseason berth. Chicago is a half-game behind Arizona for the second of three wild cards.

Jordan Wicks (4-1) allowed three runs over six innings for Chicago in its final home game of the regular season. The Cubs have won three straight after dropping seven of eight.

Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones homered for the Rockies in their franchise-record 99th loss.

Gomes’ sacrifice fly pulled the Cubs within 3-2 in the sixth. Wisdom followed with his 22nd homer of the season, a 432-foot drive that chased Ty Blach (3-3).

The Cubs swept a series for the first time since Sept. 4-6 against San Francisco.

Cubs LHP Justin Steele (16-5, 3.00 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Tuesday at Atlanta. RHP Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.63) goes for the Braves.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns, his All-Pro tight end caught Travis Kelce seven passes and one of the scoring throws, and the Chiefs romped to a 41-10 victory over the Bears - much to the delight of their newest fan, Taylor Swift, who joyfully pounded on the glass of her Arrowhead Stadium suite throughout the afternoon.

Jerick McKinnon had a pair of touchdown catches and Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire added touchdown runs, helping the Super Bowl champion Chiefs (2-1) deal the Bears (0-3) their 13th consecutive loss dating to last season.

Embattled Bears quarterback Justin Fields was 11 of 22 for 99 yards with an interception and a meaningless touchdown in the final minutes. He also led the Bears with 47 yards rushing, a good chunk of that coming on a 17-yard scramble, as the league's 27th-ranked offense finished with just 203 yards against one of the NFL's fast-improving defenses.

The Chiefs began their assault with the first of Mahomes' two TD passes to McKinnon, then Edwards-Helaire scored from a yard out to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter. When the Bears punted a third consecutive time, Mahomes hit McKinnon again to extend the lead, and Kansas City proceeded to score on its next four possessions.

As for Fields, well, the QB was not just robotic but inaccurate. When one of the league's most porous offensive lines wasn't allowing the Chiefs to pressure him, Fields was consistently missing open targets down field.

He was picked off by Mike Edwards late in the first half, leading to Pacheco's touchdown run. And when Harrison Butker added the second of his two field goals, the Chiefs were able to take a 34-0 lead into the break.

Bears starting safety Eddie Jackson was inactive with a foot injury and cornerback Josh Blackwell was dealing with a hamstring injury, all before cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had to be evaluated for a concussion; he later was deemed to have an illness and did not return. Defensive backs Jaquan Brisker and Jaylon Johnson also were hobbled during the game.

The Bears host the Denver Broncos next Sunday.

Mike Clevinger pitched six solid innings, Elvis Andrus had a two-run double and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in a rain-shortened game on Sunday, ending a string of 12 straight series losses.

Trying to avoid their second 100-loss season in five years and the fifth in club history, the White Sox took two of three from the Red Sox and captured their first series since August 7-9 when they went 2-1 against the Yankees.

Chicago outfielder Luis Robert Jr. left with a sore right knee after stealing his 20th base. He has 38 homers and 36 doubles, becoming the first White Sox player with 35 homers, 35 doubles and 20 steals.

Clevinger (9-8) gave up two runs and five hits without striking out or walking a batter.

Playing with rain falling most of the time for the second straight day, the White Sox scored twice with just one hit against Kutter Crawford (6-8) to take a 2-1 edge in the fifth.

Gavin Sheets’ sacrifice fly made it 3-1 in the sixth.

It was Chicago’s first road series win since August 4-6, at Cleveland. The White Sox won the season series against Boston, 4-2.

The White Sox have an off day Monday because their scheduled game against Arizona was moved to Thursday so the Diamondbacks could play a makeup game in New York against the Yankees. RHP José Ureña (0-6, 7.27 ERA) is set to start the first of a three-game series vs. Arizona on Tuesday.

Hear this week's action on WHOW.

The San Diego beat the St. Louis Cardinals 12-2 in their home finale. Juan Soto had a big day as well, hitting a 461-foot homer and driving in four runs.

Jose Azocar also homered for the Padres, who had nine extra-base hits in winning for the ninth time in 10 games. Their best stretch of the season is likely coming too late to avoid an embarrassing pratfall.

The Padres came into this season with World Series aspirations after reaching the NL Championship Series last fall but have been a major disappointment. They've been under .500 since May 12 despite having a payroll of around $250 million, the third-highest in the majors.

Xander Bogaerts doubled, tripled and scored twice for the Padres, who moved closer to elimination from the wild-card race after the Cubs and Diamondbacks both won.

Soto hit a three-run homer off lefty Drew Rom (1-4) in the first inning, his 33rd.

Soto added an RBI double in the fourth and finished a triple shy of the cycle. He was one of four players to score two runs.

Luis Campusano also had three hits. Eguy Rosario tripled and scored on Bogaerts' triple in the second and then hit a two-run double in the sixth. The Padres tied their season high with 18 hits.

Michael Wacha (13-4) held the Cardinals to two runs and six hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking one against his original team. His only big mistake was allowing Luken Baker's two-run homer in the seventh, his second.

Rom allowed eight runs, six earned, and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Zack Thompson (5-7, 4.57 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Milwaukee, which will counter with RHP Adrian Houser (7-4, 4.35).

William Byron led only the last six laps Sunday at Texas, going in front by passing Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe right after the final restart, and advanced to the round of eight with his series-best sixth win of the season. It was the 300th for Hendrick Motorsports, coming just more than two years after passing Petty Enterprises’ longtime record of 268 wins for the most in Cup history.

With Byron already in the next round, Hendrick also has 2021 champion Kyle Larson still in contention. Larson is currently eighth in the playoff standings with two races left before the next cut, though he was almost the one to get No. 300 — like he got the record 269th at Charlotte midway through his championship season.

The top five finishers at the 1 1/2-mile Texas track were all playoff contenders, with Ross Chastain second, ahead of Wallace, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. Retiring driver Kevin Harvick was sixth and playoff driver Brad Keselowski seventh.

Byron maintained first place in the playoff standings, with Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Larson rounding out the top eight. Bubba Wallace moved up three spots to ninth, still one below the cutoff line before the round of 8. Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch were behind him.

There are two more races in the round of 12, at Talladega next weekend and then the Roval at Charlotte. Both can be unpredictable and concerning tracks for drivers still trying to advance.

Central Illinois:

Tuscola 42, Central A&M 14
Shelbyville 27, Warrensburg-Latham 0

Illini Prairie:

Fairbury Prairie Central 55, Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central 20
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 57, Rantoul 26
Bloomington Central Catholic 42, Tolono Unity 14

8 Man Football:

Milford 46, Farmer City Blue Ridge 44

Apollo:

Charleston 21, Effingham 17
Mt. Zion 35, Mattoon 14
Mahomet-Seymour 42, Taylorville 0

Big 12:

Normal Community 34, Bloomington 0
Danville 25, Champaign Centennial 12
Champaign Central 58, Urbana 6
Normal West 49, Peoria Richwoods 14
Peoria 58, Peoria Manual 0

Central State 8:

Decatur MacArthur 14, Chatham Glenwood 12
Rochester 59, Decatur Eisenhower 0
Lincoln 34, Springfield Southeast 26
Normal University 68, Springfield Lanphier 6
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 34, Springfield 7

Heart of Illinois:

Downs Tri-Valley 31, El Paso-Gridley 13
Eureka 42, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 8
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 42, Fisher 0
Heyworth 29, Minonk Fieldcrest 28

Lincoln Prairie:

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 14, Toledo Cumberland 6
Argenta-Oreana 31, Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 13
Nokomis 42, Oakland Tri-County 0
Sullivan-Okaw Valley 59, Cerro Gordo-Bement 7
Villa Grove 21, Arcola 14

Non-conference:

Carterville 32, St. Joseph-Ogden 28

In a game heard on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com, Luke Teschke accounted for five total touchdowns leading Monticello past Pontiac 40-8 in Illini Prairie Conference high school football action from Pontiac Friday night.

Teschke threw for two scores and ran for three more. He finished 18-for-25 and 286 yards with two scores. He connected with Raiden Colbert for a 49-yard touchdown on Monticello's opening drive. 

Later in the first half, he connected with Carter Foran on a 54-yard throw over the top of the Indians' defense.

Teschke also had touchdown runs of 30, 9, and 34 yards - finishing with 114 yards on ten carries.

Trey Welter was Monticello's leading receiver for a third straight week hauling in eight catches for 98 yards. The senior also had two interceptions and earned the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game.

Ike Young had three catches for 37 yards and nine carries for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Foran finished with two catches for 67 yards with his touchdown and Colbert hauled in five catches for 72 yards with his touchdown.

Kerr Bauman paced the Indians offense with nine catches for 102 yards and caught a 30-yard touchdown. 

Pontiac falls to 1-4 while Monticello is 3-2.

The Sages host Rantoul for Homecoming next week. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

In a game heard on WHOW Friday night, the Clinton Maroons downed the Meridian Hawks, 54-20, in a Central Illinois Conference football matchup at Clinton High School.  
 

The Maroons jumped out in front early scoring on their first two possessions.  Dawson Graves ran in a score from 22-yards, and then Mason Walker took in a 15-yard score to put Clinton up 13-0 with 7 minutes to go in the first.   
 

Meridian would answer back with a 6-yard Lleyton Miller score to make it 13-7 Maroons.  Clinton's Tristin Potts would be the next to find the end zone with a 4-yard run at the start of the second quarter to put the Maroons up 19-7.  
 

Meridian's Drew Leffler would then find Miller through the air twice for scores from 10-yards and 75-yards to put the Hawks up 20-19 with just 34-seconds to go before halftime.  However, some Meridian penalties would give the Maroons a chance, and they scored from 35-yards out with 8 seconds left in the half as Mason Walker scrambled to find Dawson Graves to make the score 25-20 Clinton at the break.  
 

The second half was all Maroons as Walker added three more rushing touchdowns, and also found Keaton Graves for a 92-yard touchdown strike. The Clinton defense sacked Leffler twice in the second half, and Colton Walker picked off two passes as the Maroons pulled away for the 34-point win.  
 

Mason Walker was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Maroons Player of the Game for his six touchdown performance.  He finished 6 of 12 passing for 152 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception.  The Senior quarterback also ran 7 times for 96 yards and four touchdowns.  Dawson Graves had 10 carries for 79 yards, and a touchdown.  He also had 3 catches for 52 yards and a score.  Tristin Potts added 19 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown for the Maroons. 
 

Clinton improves to 3-2 overall, and 2-0 in the CIC.  Meridian falls to 1-4, and 0-2 in conference.  The Hawks travel to Shelbyville next week. 
 

Next week is Homecoming for the Maroons.  Clinton hosts Tuscola at 7pm Friday night.  WHOW's coverage begins around 6:45pm on all WHOW platforms!  

The Clinton Maroons are coming off a momentus win over Central A&M last week on the road and now will look to keep that momentum going as Meridian comes to town.

Coach Ron Bass says there was a lot to like about that game from the way the offense executed to better tackling by his defense.

Meridian will offer a good challenge this week for Clinton (2-2). Coach Bass says they have some pretty explosive-skill position players that can make some plays.

Meridian is 1-3 on the season.

Game time is 7 pm. Hear all the action on WHOW and on all its digital platforms.

Central Illinois Conference matchups tonight

Central A & M at Tuscola

Shelbyville at Warrensburg-Latham

The Monticello Sages are hoping to bottle up the disappointment of last week's tough loss to Bloomington Central Catholic and create some mementum heading into the second half of the season.

Football coach Cully Welter was pleased with his team's effort despite a 24-16 loss to Bloomington Central Catholic. He believes sometimes you see a good effort but the film doesn't reflect it however, that wasn't the case this week.

A lot or Pontiac is new this year. Coach Welter indicates they may see a different defense than what they have shown on film so far but they also have good, young athletes that can make plays.

Game time from Pontiac is 7 pm. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Illini Prairie Conference matchups tonight

Prairie Central at Illinois Valley Central

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Rantoul

Tolono Unity at Bloomington Central Catholic

8-man football 

Danville Schlarman at Champaign St. Thomas More (Sat.)

Blue Ridge at Milford 

St. Anne vs. Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland 

Apollo

Effingham at Charleston

Mattoon at Mt. Zion

Taylorville at Mahomet-Seymour

Big Twelve

Bloomington at Normal Community

Champaign Centennial at Danville 

Champaign Central at Urbana 

Normal West at Peoria Richwoods

Peoria at Peoria Manual

Central State Eight

Chatham-Glenwood at Decatur MacArthur

Decatur Eisenhower at Rochester

Lincoln at Springfield Southeast

Normal U-High at Springfield Lanphier

Springfield at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Heart of Illinois 

El Paso-Gridley at Tri-Valley

Dee-Mack at Eureka

Tremont vs. Ridgeview-Lexington 

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Fisher

Heyworth at Fieldcrest

Lincoln Prairie

Arthur -Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Toledo-Cumberland

Sangamon Valley at Argenta-Oreana

Oakland Tri-County at Nokomis

Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Cerro Gordo-Bement

Villa Grove at Arcola

Mid-Illini

Dunlap at East Peoria

Metamora at Canton

Morton at Pekin

Washington at Limestone

Non-conference football tonight

Bridgeport Red Hill at LeRoy (Sat.)

Lena-Winslow at Decatur St. Teresa (Sat.)

Peoria Notre Dame at Jacksonville (H.S.)

Peoria Quest Charter Academy at South Beloit

St. Joseph-Ogden at Carterville

In a game heard on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello was balanced and gritty Thursday night in a three set upset of Champaign St. Thomas More, 25-22, 19-25 and 25-23, in Illini Prairie Conference high school volleyball action Thursday from the Sievers Center at Monticello High School.

Each set was back-and-forth for both sides as Monticello jumped out early in the first set before the Sabres rallied but Monticello was able to keep STM at arm's length and close out the first set win.

The Lady Sages jumped out again in the second set but a big run by the Sabres allowed them to gradually put away the second set.

The third set was back-and-forth. STM never led by more than three but the Sages would draw even before STM would go back up however, late, Monticello was able to benefit from some controversy at the net and get away 22-20 and closed out the upset.

The Sabres uncharacteristically committed a lot of unforced errors and Monticello was able to capatilize throughout the night.

Sophomore libero Mady Melton was terrific neutralizing the big hitters for the STM with 19 digs. She added an ace and assist.

Sophomore Addison Finet was excellent in front of the net all night for Monticello. She had two big blocks, 17 assists, six digs and two aces. 

Sierrah Downey was also terrific in front of the net with seven kills, eight digs, four assists and a block.

Sophomore Ashley Stiverson and Emma Hillard had six kills apiece for the Lady Sages. They too played well at the net as each created opportunities with tips all game. Coach Kim Allison called Stiverson "on fire" and was named the Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game. 

Shelby Smith had six digs and five kills while Callie Darsham added three aces and five digs. Jobi Smith had 12 digs, four kills and three aces for Monticello. 

The Lady Sages improve to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference. They host Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond on Monday. 

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer was benched after throwing four interceptions during Saturday's home loss to No. 7 Penn State, but offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. is "certainly confident" Altmyer can regroup.

Altmyer and the Fighting Illini (1-2) look to end a two-game skid when they host Florida Atlantic this week.

The Owls bring plenty of speed and perimeter athletic ability to Champaign. The personnel presents a challenge to an Illinois defense that has lost defensive backs Matt Bailey (shoulder) and Demetrius Hill (torn ACL) to season-ending injuries.

Illinois had five turnovers against Penn State, but a disciplined defense that committed zero penalties helped the team stick around for a portion of the game.

Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry lauded the efforts of defensive lineman Johnny Newton, who had six tackles, including one for a loss, while staying disruptive at the line of scrimmage.

Florida Atlantic (1-2) also tries to rebound as it visits a Power Five opponent for the second week in a row. The Owls fell behind 34-0 at halftime of their Sept. 17 game at Clemson on the way to a 48-14 defeat and lost quarterback Casey Thompson to a season-ending knee injury.

Game tims is 2:30 pm Saturday in Champaign.

Miguel Andújar had thee hits and drove in three runs, Joshua Palacios hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates held off a late rally by the slumping Chicago Cubs to win 8-6 on Thursday night.

The loss was the 10th in the last 13 games for the Cubs, who fell into a tie with Miami for the final NL wild-card spot.

Pittsburgh's Johan Oviedo (9-14) threw six scoreless innings, giving up four hits. The right-hander walked five but escaped trouble on multiple occasions and held the Cubs hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Connor Joe and Ji Hwan Bae each drove in a run for the Pirates, whose bullpen surrendered six runs in the last three innings.

Mike Tauchman had an RBI double in the eighth and scored later on an RBI groundout from Nico Hoerner to get the Cubs within 5-4.

Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer in the ninth off All-Star David Bednar before the closer retired the next three batters.

Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (7-10, 5.27) is scheduled to start against RHP Noah Davis (0-2, 9.58) when Chicago hosts the Colorado Rockies to begin a three-game series.

For the second-straight week, Illinois State (2-1) will square off against an opponent from the newly-formed Big South-OVC Football Association when the Redbirds host the Lindenwood Lions (2-1) at Hancock Stadium on Saturday.

With his touchdown late in the game against Eastern Illinois, transfer running back Mason Blakemorehas now scored a touchdown in each of the first three games of the season. His touchdown against the Panthers was his fifth of the season, but it looked in doubt after he left the game earlier with a shoulder injury. However, he would return and score from 12 yards out to give the Redbirds the lead at the time.

A young and inexperienced Redbird defense headed into the season with a lot of question marks, however through three games they have not been the ones feeling the pressure: opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers have. Against Eastern Illinois, ISU racked up eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss and also picked up a pair of interceptions while forcing two fumbles with one recovery. All of that pressure finds them in national rankings this week, as the team now has 18 sacks on the year and 34 tackles for loss through three games. The Redbirds rank No. 1 in all of Division I football and in the FCS team sacks per game (6.0) and No. 1 in team tackles for loss per game (11.0). ISU also ranked No. 2 in the FCS in rushing defense (36.7 yards per game) and No. 3 in scoring defense (10.7 points per game) and total defense (229.3 yards per game).

Transfer Cam Grandy has become a top target for ISU quarterback Zack Annexstad in the passing attack. Against Eastern Illinois, Grandy caught five passes for a season-high 72 yards to up his season total to 152 yards receiving through three games with a touchdown. He's also been a key asset in a running attack that has scored nine touchdowns on the ground through three contests.

Game time is noon Saturday afternoon.

Eastern Illinois plays the first of two schools on its schedule from the state of Louisiana this Saturday as the Panthers host McNeese at 2 p.m. at O'Brien Field. 

Eastern Illinois drove 93 yards on eight plays in 62 seconds on Saturday scoring the game winning touchdown with 30 seconds remaining on a Pierce Holley to Justin Thomas 25-yard touchdown strike as the Panthers snapped a five game win streak by beating Illinois State in the Mid-America Classic, 14-13.

Runningback MJ Flowers was named the Big South-OVC Football Association Freshman of the Week after the Panthers win over Illinois State.  On a day when offensive yards were hard to come by, Flowers had 55 all-purpose yards.  He rushed for 25 yards on three carries and caught four passes for 30 yards.  Two of his receptions were on the Panthers final game winning drive.

EIU is off to a 2-1 start to the season and receiving votes in this week's STATS Perform FCS Top 25 poll.  The 2-1 start is the best to a season for the Panthers since 2016 when they opened 3-1 which included wins over nationally ranked Illinois State and FBS member Miami (Ohio). 

Eastern Illinois defense picked off three passes against Illinois State on Saturday as the Panthers are the national leader with seven picks this season including two returned for touchdowns in the opener at Indiana State Tyris Harvey and NiJhay Burt. 

Game time is 2 pm Saturday afternoon. Hear all the action starting with pregame at 1:30 pm on WHOW. 

The Kansas City Chiefs appeared to fix many of their Week 1 problems last week in Jacksonville, when All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones returned from his holdout, star tight end Travis Kelce was back on the field following a knee injury, and an offense that struggled against Detroit looked just a little bit better against the Jaguars.

They still had a bunch of penalties. Turnovers remained a problem. The offense was still trying to hit its stride.

Yet those issues seem like mere nuisances compared to what's going on in Chicago these days.

As the Bears prepare to visit the Chiefs on Sunday, they are without a defensive coordinator following Alan Williams' surprising and abrupt resignation and their offense is embroiled in controversy after quarterback Josh Fields blamed coaching for “robotic” play and then tried rather unsuccessfully to walk back his comments.

Problem is their feet will be in Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, facing the defending Super Bowl champions. The Bears (0-2) are nearly two-TD underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, as they try to snap a 12-game losing streak dating to last season.

It's not as if the Chiefs (1-1) are humming along perfectly, especially on offense. They turned the ball over three times, committed 12 turnovers for 94 yards and a group of wide receivers that had eight drops in their opener against Detroit continued to put the ball on the ground during their 17-9 victory over the Jaguars last week.

Fields, whose 70.7 passer rating is worst in the NFL, turned heads this week when he indicated coaches are feeding him too much information. Fields later said his statement was taken out of context and that he only points a finger at himself.

The Bears put left tackle Braxton Jones on injured reserve with a neck injury, while safety Eddie Jackson has been dealing with a foot injury, wide receiver Darnell Mooney with a knee problem and defensive back Josh Blackwell with a sore hamstring.

Game time is 3:25 pm Sunday.